These were the most interesting business news from Hungary

See below MTI’s main business and financial news from the previous week:

PARLIAMENT APPROVES 2018 BUDGET

Hungarian lawmakers approved the 2018 budget on the last day of the spring session. The budget was passed with a vote of 127 votes for and 62 against. The bill targets revenue of 18,751.5 billion forints and expenditures of 20,112.1 billion forints, leaving a deficit of 1,360.7 billion forints. The 2018 deficit target as a percentage of GDP is 2.4 percent, calculated with European union accounting rules.

PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT WORTH HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS LAUNCHED IN BUDAPEST

Property Market Ingatlanfejlesztő laid the cornerstone of a residential and office development worth several hundred billion forints at Kopaszi Dam, in the south of the capital. The project, dubbed BudaPart, will start with the 26 billion forint construction of two residential buildings with 265 homes. The inauguration of the homes will start at the end of next year, but three-fourths have already found buyers.

CONSTRUCTION SECTOR OUTPUT JUMPS 22PC IN APRIL

Output of Hungary’s construction sector rose by an annual 22.1 percent in April, data released by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) showed. KSH noted that the jump came on a low base. Output of the building segment was up by 11.9 percent during the period. Output of the civil engineering segment soared 40.2 percent.

HUNGARY, INDIANA SIGN ECONOMIC COOPERATION AGREEMENT

Hungary signed an economic cooperation agreement with the US state of Indiana. The agreement, signed by Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, was the first such one Hungary has signed with a US state. It was also the first such agreement Indiana has signed with a sovereign country. Indiana-based drugmaker Eli Lilly and the automotive industry companies Allison Transmission and Remy International all have operations in Hungary. Read more here: GOVERNOR OF INDIANA VISITS HUNGARY

METRANS INAUGURATES EUR 50M CONTAINER TERMINAL IN BUDAPEST

Logistics company Metrans Danubia, the Hungarian unit of Germany’s Hamburger Hafen und Logistik (HHLA), inaugurated a 50 million euro intermodal container terminal in the south of Budapest. The terminal will raise the number of containers the company handles each year to 250,000 from 170,000.

FHB BOARD RECOMMENDS SHAREHOLDERS ACCEPT BUYOUT OFFER

The board of FHB Mortgage Bank recommended shareholders accept a public purchase offer for the lender’s shares by Takarekbank in consortium with a number of savings cooperatives. The board said the bidder’s plans to focus FHB’s activities on issuing mortgage bonds and refinancing, while transferring its commercial banking activities to Hungary’s saving cooperative integration would mean its shares “shall no longer have the same investment potential as earlier”. The board added that the 1.0 price-to-book-value ratio the bidder’s offer represents is “not significantly different” from the prevailing price level on the banking market in the region, citing three acquisitions last year as specific examples.

IEA RECOMMENDS HUNGARY ROLL BACK RETAIL MARKET REGULATION

The International Energy Agency (IEA) welcomed Hungarian measures to boost energy security and reduce emissions, but recommended a gradual return to full liberalisation on the retail energy market in an assessment of the country’s energy policies released on Thursday. “We applaud Hungary’s achievements in reducing the carbon intensity of its economy, building energy infrastructure and strengthening energy security, most notably via gas storage,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a statement released by the agency. “Hungary has made progress in diversifying its energy supplies and increasing competition in the energy sector, but there is still more to do on both fronts,” he added. Read more here: IEA PRAISES HUNGARY’S ENERGY SECURITY MEASURES

Photo: MTI

Source: MTI